A government is supposed to work in service of its citizens. It's a necessay evil, one could argue, because a society needs rules and rule enforcement in order to function (like the rule saying you're not allowed to steal). Government is also useful for coordinating large projects like infrastructure building (roads, power lines, etc) and public services (like health care and education). So it's not feasible to say government is useless. You might say you're not satisfied by how the government is handling its responsibilities, but we'll get to that later.

So you can't have a civilized society without some form of government. But the government is made up of people, and people can't be trusted blindly to do a good job. You need a careful system of rules, checks and balances to limit the ways people in power can abuse their power. Transparency here is key: you can't check on the workings of the government if you can't see what it's doing.

But who's to do the checking? To a great extent, some parts of the government verify and audit other parts. But ultimately, since govermnents are supposed to work in service of the people, it's those people – all citizens – who should oversee and check government actions. Citizens have a feedback mechanism: if they are not satisfied with the current government, they can elect some other people to take its place. The process is not great, choice is often limited, and elections are rare (several years apart), but it does work.

One thing is essential for this whole government thing to work properly: the overseers and beneficiaries – the citizens – need to be aware of their role and take active part in it. This means understanding how the system works, the powers and constraints of various people and institutions, and the problems they are asked to solve. And to keep an eye out for people in public office who are abusing their power.

The internet is a great tool for learning and finding specific information; hopefully it will improve the way our governments and democratic processes work.